Things are getting worse day by day for Leyton Orient on and off the pitch. The club have until the 20th of March to pay £250,000 on unpaid taxes.
The team is second from the bottom and facing relegation.
Promotion
In May 2014, the O’s were a penalty kick away for promotion to the Championship, but from that near miss on, black clouds have hung over the Matchroom stadium.
The downhill started inthe summer of 2014 when the owner Barry Hearn sold the club to the Italian businessman Francesco Beccheti. Hearn said recently: “Looking where we are now, I would never have sold if I had thought this was going to happen.”
Beccheti showed some good signs of ownership during his first few months in the club. He spent money on transfers to try and bring Leyton Orient from League One into the Championship. Despite spending on players that played in the Premier League and in the Championship, the O’s started the new season under their new owner with only one win in six matches.
Since Beccheti’s take over, Leyton Orient have changed managers nine times and have had a relegation from League One under the the Italian’s ownership.
Relegated
However, this year may be the one that they could be relegated from the Football League after 112 years.
If they do not pay their tax bill, they would face a 12-points deduction and nobody can then save them from relegation.
Leyton Orient Fans’ Trust (LOFT) vice-chair Tom Davies told the Daily Mail: “He’s unaccountable, which is reflected in how he has run the club — the hiring and firing of managers, the high player turnover, the reported meddling in team affairs, the rash spending initially followed by the starving of funds now.”
LOFT members had a meeting and an agreement that they should set up the ‘Leyton Orient Regeneration Fund’ which is aiming to collect £100,000 and save the club from potential extinction and relegation. Also, they are asking Beccheti to sell the club to a new owner.
On the pitch the O’s this year have very poor performances.
Extinct
The O’s lost two games in a row at the Matchroom stadium, which is the most disappointing thing for the fans as now they fear that their favourite team might be extinct or, in the best circumstances, be relegated.
The fans want Becchetti to sell the club immediately and they are desperate for any form of investment.
The future for the East London club is unsure as the 20th of March looms.
